A proposed rule change threatens to weaken the Endangered Species Act by excluding habitat destruction from the definition of “harm"
Deadline Monday, May 19th, 2025
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are proposing to rescind the regulatory definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to make way for a easier path to development, logging or drilling for oil. This change would remove habitat modification or degradation from the definition of harm protecting species only from direct injury or death—not from the loss of places they depend on to survive. Changing the definition of harm is essentially a back door to invalidating the entire ESA.
Habitat loss is the leading threat to wildlife, pushing more species toward extinction than any other factor. This rollback would be a major setback for wildlife conservation across the country—including on national wildlife refuges, where successful endangered species recovery must include habitat protection not only on national wildlife refuges, but also on adjacent lands.
National wildlife refuges are embedded in a landscape of multiple ownerships and work collaboratively with local and state governments on endangered species recovery efforts. Species must be able to repopulate and interact with enough individuals of their own kind to maintain a viable population. This often requires moving across lands beyond refuge boundaries—into areas that may be fragmented, degraded, or lack protections if habitat destruction is no longer considered harm under the ESA.
To learn more about the endangered species that rely on the National Wildlife Refuge System—and the role refuges play in their recovery—check out our full report: Finding Refuge: Endangered Species in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
An example would be the collaborative efforts of piping plover management on town beaches adjacent to refuge lands that protect foraging habitat as well as the nest until the young fledge. With changes in the definition, only the individual nest would be protected. Baby birds too young to fly, trying to cross the sand to get to the tideline, would be making a perilous journey beyond their nest.
A Few Examples of At Risk Wildlife:
Piping plovers rely on undisturbed nesting beaches,
Florida panthers need expansive, connected territories,
Red Wolves depend on intact forests and fields,
These species and countless other threatened and endangered wildlife species face a heightened risk if habitat modification or degradation is no longer considered a form of harm.
Take Action For Endangered Species On Endangered Species Day
Submit a public comment before or on Monday, May 19th urging federal agencies to keep habitat destruction in the Endangered Species Act’s definition of harm.
Even on national wildlife refuges, the ESA is critical for stopping destructive activities that damage the homes endangered species rely on. Wildlife like piping plovers and Florida panthers can’t survive without intact, protected habitat—and they don’t stop at refuge boundaries.
Let’s make Endangered Species Day a national day of action. Tell decision-markers habitat destruction is harm.